Rating: 
Summary: Exactly the same story as the first one
Review: I would have given this book 1 star except for the fact that it is somewhat enjoyable. However, the author didn't bother to think up a different plot than "The Magic of Recluse". The main character is the same, all the supporting characters are the same, the development of the characters is the same... I could go on, but I think I've made my point. I should mention that I enjoyed both the first and second books in this series, but I am appalled that the author chose to write a book that is an exact clone of an earlier one.
Rating:
Summary: Kill me now
Review: Imagine banging your head against a hard surface repeatedly, then read Magic Engineer. It shows that writers off to a good start, with Magic of Recluce, and Towers of the Sunset, get confident and keel over. It was just too descriptive, with 300 pages spent in the little town of Diev, where Dorrin just makes toys and weapons, while making love to his lady friend Liedral, who looks like a man. Only read this monstrosity if youre desperate.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Excellent Combination
Review: Like "Armor", this book combines two of my interests. I enjoy fantasy works, and I am interested in engineering of many types.
Admittedly the cover art drew me in as well. I was pleased to find that judging this book by its cover was worth the risk.
Dealing with common themes, such as coming of age, and rebelling against the established society, this epic moves the reader with compelling characters and excellent description of everyday events. After finishing this installment, which can be read as a stand-alone novel, I began purchasing the rest of the series. As far as I'm concerned voting with my wallet outweighs anything else I can say.
Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Combination
Review: Like "Armor", this book combines two of my interests. I enjoy fantasy works, and I am interested in engineering of many types.
Admittedly the cover art drew me in as well. I was pleased to find that judging this book by its cover was worth the risk.
Dealing with common themes, such as coming of age, and rebelling against the established society, this epic moves the reader with compelling characters and excellent description of everyday events. After finishing this installment, which can be read as a stand-alone novel, I began purchasing the rest of the series. As far as I'm concerned voting with my wallet outweighs anything else I can say.
Rating: 
Summary: Present Tense Very Unpleasant
Review: Mikeymac sits down in his comfy chair. He reaches over to the end table and picks up "The Magic Engineer". Having read several other installments in the series, Mikeymac is eager to begin reading this one. He opens the book to page one. Mikeymac raises his eyebrow. The book begins in that most irritating of tenses....the PRESENT ONE! He heaves a sigh, and continues reading. The author had displayed lapses such as this in the "The Magic of Recluce". It had been limited to isolated chapters though, and could be got through if one possessed a strong will. As he reads on, Mikeymac realizes that the entire bloody book is written this way. He makes a feeble attempt to mentally substitute the letter "s" at the end of some words with the more appropriate letters "ed". The exercise proves fruitless. Mikeymac hurls the paperback across the room. It lands with a satisfying "Cruuuuummppssssh!".
This book stinks! Having said that, many of the other books in the series are wonderful fantasy fare. Modesitt has talent, but he should heed the advice of a good editor.(Which I'm sure he did not on this effort).
Rating:
Summary: Present Tense Very Unpleasant
Review: Mikeymac sits down in his comfy chair. He reaches over to the end table and picks up "The Magic Engineer". Having read several other installments in the series, Mikeymac is eager to begin reading this one. He opens the book to page one. Mikeymac raises his eyebrow. The book begins in that most irritating of tenses....the PRESENT ONE! He heaves a sigh, and continues reading. The author had displayed lapses such as this in the "The Magic of Recluce". It had been limited to isolated chapters though, and could be got through if one possessed a strong will. As he reads on, Mikeymac realizes that the entire bloody book is written this way. He makes a feeble attempt to mentally substitute the letter "s" at the end of some words with the more appropriate letters "ed". The exercise proves fruitless. Mikeymac hurls the paperback across the room. It lands with a satisfying "Cruuuuummppssssh!".
This book stinks! Having said that, many of the other books in the series are wonderful fantasy fare. Modesitt has talent, but he should heed the advice of a good editor.(Which I'm sure he did not on this effort).
Rating:
Summary: And yet again.
Review: Oy. Is this the third book or the 1st? Once again, it's the story of a young lad who doesn't want to admit he has powerfull magic powers as a healer and so hides in a village of the 'norms' and makes his living as a blacksmith.
And once again, in the end our young hero learns to manage his powers and uses them to defeat the evil. Yet, at a cost.
Oh man, why do I keep reading this series. I've got the 4th (or 5th, I can't tell the way this series keeps jumping between sequels and prequels) on my bookshelf at home. So I'll probably read it, even if it -is- just the same story I've read 3 other times.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best
Review: Reading this book is really painful because of the present tense. Also it is often confusing because rather often you don't know who is actually talking to whom. I liked the story in itself though the plot is rather slow. Depending on your point of view you might see it as an advantage that the different books are not really related except through the country they reside in. So it seems you get a new set of character in each book without relation to previous books. I doubt that I will read the other books of this series (read "The Magic of Recluce" so far) escpecially because of the present tense style. I don't give it a 1 rating because I like the story but it is not enough to make a good book.
Rating: 
Summary: I enjoyed reading this.
Review: Since the first book, Modesitt's writing has been getting better and better. By that, I mean his characters are being developed better and his storytelling was improving. The confusion I felt reading the first book has slowly decreased throughout the series. This book was on the verge of earning four stars.The character development in this book was better than the first two installments in the Recluce series. I found myself caring for what happened to them. I still think the story gets a little slow in the middle of the book (the same is true for the first two). It's almost as if the author has a hard time developing characters and furthering the plot at the same time. The first third sets up the story and introduces the plot, the middle third is all character development with hardly any plot, and the last third contains most of the plot as well as the climax (in this case, there were two climaxes...I'm still trying to figure out which was the main one) and resolution. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It seemed to get a little slow in the middle, but seeing the characters grow was almost worth it. With the improvement in this book, the next one is that much more enticing. I'm really getting into the story he's trying to tell in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Another Great book
Review: The author's character development is outstanding, the main character is likable and the writing is well done. Some readers may be put off by the First person perspective used by the Author, but once use to it, you stop noticing. Overall I truly enjoyed this book.
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